1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to gaseous fueled fired outdoor frying devices such as deep fat fryers. More particularly, the present invention relates to an improved outdoor frying apparatus having a specially configured pot and a basket with shallow and deep sections that fits the pot interior, the basket being pivotally connected to the pot at a hinge and along a first edge of the pot, the basket having a ramp section opposite the hinge for camming or biasing or pushing cooked food items to gravitate toward the deep section of the basket as the basket is rotated from a cooking position to a dumping position. The pot has a configuration that corresponds to and conforms generally to the basket. A specially configured steaming arrangement is provided that enables the apparatus to both boil/steam food items (e.g., crabs, shrimp, crawfish and the like).
2. General Background of the Invention
Many food frying devices have been patented. Examples can be found in the following table.
The following U.S. Patents and Publications are incorporated herein by reference:
PAT.ISSUE DATE/NO./PATENTPUBL. DATEPUBL.TITLEMM-DD-YYYY2,550,758French FryerMay 01, 19512,707,428Food Boiling ApparatusMay 03, 19553,714,889Outdoor Deep FryerFeb 06, 19733,971,307Deep Fat FryerJul. 27, 19763,975,070Flour and Batter ApparatusAug 17, 19764,250,803Deep FryerFeb 17, 19814,420,006Spray Cleaning System forDec. 13, 1983Frying Apparatus4,580,024Microwave Deep Fat FryerApr. 01, 19864,623,544Constant Temperature Fryer/Nov. 18, 1986Cooker Assembly5,209,218Deep Frying ApparatusMay 11, 19935,398,668Deep Frying ApparatusMar. 21, 19955,577,438Gas Fired Deep Fat FryerNov. 26, 19965,642,660Gas Fired Deep Fat FryerJul. 01, 19975,918,535Apparatus for Suspending an Jul. 06, 1999Inner Basket Within an Outer Pot of a Cooking Vessel, and Method for Using Same8,826,807Outdoor Seafood Boiling Sep. 09, 2014Apparatus2006/0260602Cooking ApparatusNov. 23, 2006
The following applications and patents are also hereby incorporated herein by reference:
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/480,137, filed 8 Sep. 2014, which is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/208,551, filed 12 Aug. 2011 (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,826,807, issued on 9 Sep. 2014), which is a nonprovisional of and claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/373,069, filed 12 Aug. 2010, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/405,983, filed 22 Oct. 2010.